Cant see speedo (or much else)

[DB6]

Hi,

I hate my speedometer and tach, too small and old (oohh like me).

I really have a problem seeing the speedo in daylight let alone at night (err yes good evening officer")

So anybody have any luck with anything not too expensive or exotic, this is just for street use , I was thinking is there is a newer more visible drop in or a led set up, looking for ideas really.

When I am driving this car I really have a problem trying to see these buggers.

 

And no, I am not going to steal the glasses off the Japanese snipers that shoot at me !

 

By the way the Rx bottle hold ear plugs not drugs.

Edited March 13, 2009 by DB6

[pi7ot]

I bought a SPA SPD111 from Pegasus Auto Racing supplies about Nine years ago for the same reason. I stuck the magnets to the RF wheel rim and the sensor to the rear leading cycle wing spar.

I also Bought the Omex sequential shift lights to compensate as a Tach. My second speedo backup is a Garmin Fortex 201 that I attach to the steering wheel with Scotch Double Lock Velcro. This device has a Large Speedometer Page although it is slow to refresh when you nail the throttle.

I deleted the crap VDO oil pressure gauge and put a SPA dual digital oil pressure/oil temp in the spot between the original tach and speedo.

Extra weight on the Birkin, but useful.

 

m

[lowflyer]

Check out the Autometer line-up of products.

 

They seem to have a "look" for just about anyones taste.

 

I went with the "old school" look of the white on black Pro series, but there are lots of choices.

 

They also have a programmable mechanical speedo.

 

Good luck.

[oilteq]

My problem was the steering wheel blocked the important parts of the speedo and tach. Some racers twist their gauges so that the needles point straight up when everything is right, so they only need a quick glance and do not have to read the numbers. This inspired me to exchanged the speedo and tach from their original positions, and then twist them so I could see above 2000 rpm and up to about 70 mph without ducking. An image is attached (I hope).

[Kitcat]

I can see my standard Caterham gauges fine. However, when driven hard, like at the track, the tachometer needle bounce up and down wildly and is useless. I now rely on the time honored "ear-tach". My Crossflow sort of peters out at high revs anyhow, so I typically shift when the engine runs out of steam.

 

The speedometer doesn't bounce, but reads 5 mph fast. Since I know the shift points on the speedo-I can use it to double check my "ear-tach."

[JohnCh]

Another vote for shift lights to replace the need for a high visibility tach. I mounted my shift light module to the windscreen so that it is in my line of sight but not blocking the view of the road. It's very easy to see in your peripheral vision, so no need to take your eyes off the road and focus on a needle swinging around on the dashboard. The photo below is a fairly accurate representation of my view from the driver’s seat, although the shift lights do appear a bit high. In reality the top of the module is about even with the top of the head light bucket.

 

Edited to add: ignore the disclaimer above that the photo doesn't accurately show where the shiftlights sit. I'm currently in the garage so I took a new photo that recreates my view pretty closely. New photo is below.

 

http://john15.web.officelive.com/Documents/driversview1024.jpg

 

-John

Edited March 14, 2009 by JohnCh
updated photo

[Davemk1]

My problem was the steering wheel blocked the important parts of the speedo and tach. Some racers twist their gauges so that the needles point straight up when everything is right, so they only need a quick glance and do not have to read the numbers. This inspired me to exchanged the speedo and tach from their original positions, and then twist them so I could see above 2000 rpm and up to about 70 mph without ducking. An image is attached (I hope).

 

Same exact thing I did with my Birkin. Works very well.

 

dave

[JohnK]

I think that this is one of those needs that makes you think twice about what you're asking for. A really trim car with great visibility doesn't give you much dash for your instruments. My car has a pretty tall engine and hence has a pretty expansive dash. Consequently it came with huge tach and speedo (which took no small amount of work fitting). This is great for readability, but comes at the expense of good road visibility.- (see USA7s > General > General Sevens Discussion> what steering wheels do you use? Page 5.)

Alternatively, I remember talking to a girl years ago who mentioned she rode a motocross bike. When I asked about how she kept her power where she wanted it when she didn't have a tach to refer to (being sexist at the time and thinking 'A GIRL riding an MX bike! C'mon now...). She said, "It's easy , you just wind it out 'till the power begins to fall off and then you shift." (I shoulda asked her out!).

[oilteq]

John makes a good point. Particularly if you have an ECU enforcing a hard rev limit, is the tach really that important?

 

Blaine

[powderbrake]

John makes a good point. Particularly if you have an ECU enforcing a hard rev limit, is the tach really that important?

 

Blaine

 

I also put a set or rev lites on the dash. They work great, and don't require that you realy "look" at them, and the ECU based rev limiter is a great back-up. My tach and speedo are in the middle, ( don't look at them often) but my water temp and oil pressure gauges are right in front of me.

[BobDrye]

Hi,

I hate my speedometer and tach, too small and old (oohh like me).

I really have a problem seeing the speedo in daylight let alone at night (err yes good evening officer")

So anybody have any luck with anything not too expensive or exotic, this is just for street use , I was thinking is there is a newer more visible drop in or a led set up, looking for ideas really.

When I am driving this car I really have a problem trying to see these buggers.

 

And no, I am not going to steal the glasses off the Japanese snipers that shoot at me !

 

By the way the Rx bottle hold ear plugs not drugs.

 

 

Put it in the steering wheel!

[DB6]

Put it in the steering wheel!

 

 

I just want to see my speed and revs not move to Vegas.

 

By the way ...how much did you win with the Orange and 2 Cherries?

[BobDrye]

I always roll 7777

[DB6]

I always roll 7777

 

I see you also have a TV to watch when you get bored.

[BobDrye]

I see you also have a TV to watch when you get bored.

 

 

Actually it's for data logging. It's better than having a laptop in the driver's seat.